Over at Craig's Blog

Perhapablog

Thursday, August 16, 2007

at mike's-----and tributes

hi, everyone.

i'm at mike's right now, sitting and sorting and laughing and crying with his family. we are sad and doing our best to go through mike's things and distract each other from that sadness. it is very hard.

first i should tell you all that charlie (mike's cat, for those who follow his blog...) is fine and will be going to live with mike's brother and sister-in-law, matt and suzanne and their cat, toonces (who can, apparently drive a car). he will be incredibly well cared for and incredibly loved.

onto matt and suzanne themselves,; in light of losing my mom a year or so ago, i know what it's like to have to step up and soldier on in the face of a loss like this, to have to do it in the face of such a sudden...tragedy is simply heroic. they have been so strong, so supportive, and so conscious of mike's friends and fans that i'm sitting here watching them and just don't know how they're doing it.

as for ALL the fans and friends who have 'e'd me, matt, and suzanne, made comments on mike's blog or this one, who have responded to the stories on newsarama (thanks, matt brady--you're the best) we would like, as a family, to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. your comforting words of love for mike and your prayers are so uplifting to all of us.

and to everyone who have so warmly and generously asked/offered/begun putting together the many tribute books and portfolios, we are moved beyond words.

truthfully, the number of people wanting to do tribute books has become a bit overwhelming and, at the moment, we're all still pretty numb about what has happened. we would love to be involved in any tribute that is being done for mike, but right now matt, suzanne, and i just can't think in those directions.once some of this crazy sadness is over we'll be glad to talk more about this.just too sad right now.

12 comments:

I met Mike once in Chicago like most have said and only spoke to him very shortly, but by god. I can't stop wanting to look at his work. I can remember reading Wizard Magazine a number of years back and seeing Mikes Superman sketches in there. I ripped out the pages and stapled them together. I took them every where for a few months wanting understand how Mike captured that innocents in his art. I just HAD to know. but now I am simply glad I got to carry those pages around for months.

Mike was my and my girlfriend's hero. We were planning to show mike the comic we're planning to write when we finished it. Now we're dedicating it to Mike. I was lucky enough to talk to mike through e-mail and forums, but he made a huge impact on my life, and I'll never be the same again without him in my world. I would have liked to meet him in person, and thanked him for all the inspiraton and helping me a bit with my portfolio.

Like many others, I am sad that I never had the opportunity to meet Mike. Having gone to various conventions over the years, I've never been to one where he was, and have moved across the country to boot. (Since then, I haven't gone to any cons.)

Coincidentally, some of my relatives moved to North Carolina and I was going to visit the east coast this year. It's the side of the US I'm from, after all.

"If only..." That's what we're all asking ourselves, isn't it? If only we could have done this or that different, then how would things have been? But life is like that. We have to live every day like it's our last. There's no real point to asking yourself "what if?", but we all do it anyway...

I will continue working toward my dream (of becoming a comic writer or novelist, someday) along with my partner, who wishes to be an artist. We loved "Tellos". We loved everything about it. We only hope that we can create something similarly enjoyable, someday.

I imagine that a lot of the fellows at my work (specifically, Activision in California) have similar feelings. Without even telling them about what happened, I walked in one day and saw that several of Mike's art pieces (Spider-Man works were the most popular, since Activision develops the games) were plastered up as wallpapers on the computers' desktops. There really are a lot of people out there who were shocked, and although we can't understand the depth of his family and friends' mourning, we know that Mike would want everyone to not give up and keep on toward their own happy endings.

Todd, it's Brian from October Country (working Saturdays with John). I've been wanted to get in touch with you since I heard about this, and just express to you how sad I am at Mike's passing. When I read it, it felt like someone punched me in the gut. Mike's work on the Flash and Spider-Man with you is what got me into comics when I was younger, so I feel like I've lost a big part of my...what would you call it, comic-identity? But whatever I'm feeling, I know it must be immeasurably harder for you and everyone else.

I know we don't know each other too well, but I just wanted to let you know that I've been thinking of you during this time, and my thoughts and prayers go out to you and Mike's family and friends. I hope you get through all this alright, and I hope to see you again in the shop really soon.

Thank you Todd for your heartfelt comments today and for your support of the Wieringo family. I truly appreciate everything that you have done for Mike, Matt, Suzanne & Mr. & Mrs. Wieringo. Words seem to often fail us at times of great grief, but today, many of us joined to celebrate Mike and speak of our love for him & the joy he gave our lives through his friendship & his work. Not just his contributions to the artform he loved so well, but the way in which he chose to pursure his passion and the way he helped & complimented others with him along the way. Mike was quite simply a good man. Not often enough the kind of person you meet in your life, let alone have the privilege to call your friend. But, Mike was my friend and my life is much better for having known him. You will always be in my thoughts and my heart. I love you buddy. Paul.

My heart goes out to you and all of those who knew Mike. I reread Tellos this week with a heavy heart and it lifted me up trmemdously. I did a comic strip that's posted on my blog inspired by tellos. check it out when you have the time.

I just found out... It feels like I've been living under a rock. It hit me like a sledge hammer, and I feel kind of bad for it considering I never even got to meet him... I tried the old brokentuba address (as I remembered it off the top of my head, anyway), but it didn't seem to work...I just wanted to give you and Mike's family my best, and all the energy I can spare. And let you know that I do, and will, remember.Here's to a hero.